


Runaways in the Night

by wolfzaa



Series: Barlyle Prompts & Ficlets [9]
Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Barlyle is only implied tho, Character Study, Family Drama, Feels, Gen, M/M, POV Outsider, Period Typical Attitudes, your choice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 18:03:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13723098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfzaa/pseuds/wolfzaa
Summary: After all these years of being a nanny, Hannah had never been this worried about any child she had raised.Of all the three Carlyle kids she took care of, of all children she was hired to look after, Phillip was the sweetest yet the most unpredictable child she had ever met.*They said it was an opening show; nobody told her that it was, actually, the ringmasters’ dance.





	Runaways in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I have this headcanon that Phillip isn't the only child for quite some time. I just think that there would certainly be more family drama if he was an heir.
> 
> This can be either Gen or Barlyle, your choice. I'll just tag both.
> 
> Btw, for Thai version [หาอ่านได้ทางนี้เลยค่ะ](https://writer.dek-d.com/wolf-zaa/writer/viewlongc.php?id=1197067&chapter=107)

 

_Phillip knew the audience will throw the tickets away after they saw his play._

 

 

* * *

 

 

After all these years of being a nanny, Hannah had never been this worried about any child she had raised.

Of all the three Carlyle kids she took care of, of all children she was hired to look after, Phillip was the sweetest yet the most unpredictable child she had ever met.

The Carlyle hired Hannah as a housemaid.  They already had professional nannies to take care of their children, but having a former nanny as a servant had its own peak; having two pairs of eyes was surely better than one.  Hannah came by the time the second child was still a toddler.

Hannah wasn’t as close with Margaret Carlyle as she was with the boys.  Margaret was the oldest one; five years older than William and seven years older than Phillip.  She was a shy girl.  Her husband was an English gentleman with grace and wealth that pleased Mr. Carlyle enough to let his precious daughter go.  It was told in the letters she sent home that she was happy and content with this arrangement.  The weather in London was worse than in New York but she was moving to the countryside and everything worked just fine.  She was in good hands.

On the other side, William Carlyle, the middle child, was the opposite side of his sister.  He was confident and ambitious, born to be a true leader, simply everything Mr. Carlyle wanted from a son.  Every business William touched promised only success.  There was a line already waited for him when the young man decided it was time to find his significant other.  His wife, Edith, was the most beautiful among them all, coming from a good family Mrs. Carlyle approved.  She had already given him an heir.  Hannah was thrilled to hear more of the good news from them.

Then there was Phillip.

Hannah didn’t know where to start with the boy.  The youngest Carlyle had the nicest smile she had ever seen from anyone and tended to fall into his brother’s shadow as a child.  William was louder, ran faster, stood taller.  He was good at mathematics and finances while Phillip stuck with plays, Shakespeare, and music.  Mr. and Mrs. Carlyle decided that having an artist within the family could be a nice touch to the Carlyle name, so they hired the best music and English teachers for him.  William despised getting locked up inside to study; Phillip, however, never protested.

Hannah noticed that if not asked, Phillip had never voiced anything in front of his parents.  During the meals, Phillip usually stayed quiet.  There were a few lines of “Yes, I understand,” and “It could be,” and “As you wish, Mother, Father,” being thrown around while William made sure that his opinion had a place in every conversation.  William was a replication of Mr. Carlyle when he was younger and they were proud of that.  Phillip hummed every time the resemblance was mentioned and always gave him a quick toast.

Lately, Hannah wondered if it were only for the sake of sarcasm.

Since when the boy she raised had slipped from her embrace and grown into a man she didn’t know?  Hannah couldn’t find an answer to that.  The next time she knew he was pouring whiskey down his throat as though he didn’t care about the world.  Perhaps he really didn’t.

Hannah missed the youngest Carlyle; his sweet smile, his polite greeting, his midnight piano session that reserved for the servants.  Since when the morning routine of Carlyle household had become a quick round of “Such a disgrace,” and “No shame at all, that boy, run away with the circus like that,” from Mr. Carlyle every time a certain circus made the front page, Hannah had no idea at all.

She didn’t like hatred that ran deep in her master’s voice when he was talking about his youngest child.  Hannah was scared for him.

As a servant, it was the only time she allowed herself to think how much she missed _her_ boy.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_The audience cheered so loud Phillip couldn’t even hear a thing.  They were all standing up._

 

 

* * *

 

 

Curious, Hannah finally bought a ticket for the show at Barnum Circus.

She didn’t tell anyone she was coming.  A day off was rare but she was willing to spend it if it meant she could see her little boy again.  Phillip might not care about the world, but once upon her memory, he _cared_ about the servants working for him in the Carlyle mansion.  He was the only one that actually cared and talked to them as equals; not that they dared talk back with the same manner, but they appreciated his effort nonetheless.  He might be the only Carlyle who could remember new faces and asked if they wanted anything, if they were treated well.  Hannah needed to see him again if possible.

She still had no idea what the man was doing at the circus.  Back in the time when he was still a playwright; he was successful.  Hannah had no right to go and see his plays herself but she was sure they would have been perfect, just the same as his piano session he played for her.  He performed every piece with grace and delicacy she couldn’t picture how any of those could fit in with something so unrefined, so  _vulgar_ , like the Barnum Circus.

Of course, Hannah wasn’t an upper class.  Still, she had lived among them for nearly fifty years and she knew that this side of the town wasn’t made for a Carlyle.

After the fire, the Barnum Circus moved away from the town to the shore.  With no buildings around, they set up many colorful tents that could be easily spotted from half a mile away.  Nobody could get lost finding the circus, Hannah presumed.  The place was dusty and crowded, full with the mixed scent of animals, hay, and salty wind from the sea nearby.  Hannah felt so old walking through the crowd, following the line to the biggest tent in the middle.

She sat on the stand quietly, ignoring all those exciting words murmuring across the tent as they waited for the show to begin.  She tried not to fidget with nervousness.  She didn’t know what to expect from the circus; she didn’t even know if she would have a chance to see Phillip.

Suddenly, the lights were out.  Hannah started.

_“Ladies and gents, this is the moment that you’ve waited for.”_

The audience fell silent immediately.  Hannah gulped.  The voice was low yet she could hear it perfectly from her seat.

_“We, the Barnum Circus, challenge you with everything we have that the show you’re about to witness---”_

The man’s voice was intoxicating, electrifying.  He dipped it lower, deeper, ignited a weird, tantalizing feeling under her skin; something like fire.  Or excitement.  Or perhaps it was just fear.

_“---will steal your mind away---”_

Hannah held her breath.

_“---and all that was real will be left behind.”_

Then, without warning, everything burst into life.  The ring was now covered in all the color lights, from white to red to a burning fire.  Every sound erupted at once: the music, the drums, horses galloping, people running; then a man in vivid red coat stepped forward into the light with a top hat and a cane.  The audience’s cheers were so loud before they began echoing the music.

Hannah didn’t know where to focus, feeling so overwhelmed she could have stopped breathing, but she didn’t.  There were performers all over the stage: a tattooed man, a general on a horse, a fire eater, a sword swallower, elephants, lions---  A bearded lady in purple dress was singing on the ground.  Two trapeze artists were flying in the air.  Every action shouted,  _“This is me!  Look at us!”_ with the ringmaster stood there at the center of everything, controlling everything, growling wordlessly at the audience to just  _surrender._

 

**_“Welcome to the Barnum Circus!”_ **

_“---Here we have everything you ever want---”_

_“---Everything you ever need---”_

_“---It’s gonna be here right in front of you---”_

_“---This is where you wanna be---”_

_“---This is what you wanna be---”_

 

_“This is the greatest show!”_

 

Hannah knew that voice.  The last one.  The only one.

The music caught her heartbeat, making it pound with the rhythm.  She was stunned, froze in place.  Everyone on the stage was different, weird, obnoxious, even; yet they had the gleam in their eyes that could lighten up the entire city and the most contagious smiles in the world.

They said it was an opening show; nobody told her that it was, actually, the ringmasters’ dance.

Because now with two of them in matching red, they were dancing, right there, surrounded by all those astonishing performances, guiding every pair of eyes from one to another, sending back and forth like a waltz; showing off everything they wanted the audience to see, showing off everything they had, everything they _were_ , everything that screamed---

 

**_“Welcome to our world!”_ **

 

Phillip threw his hat in the air; Barnum caught it with ease.

Everyone was on their feet, cheering.  Hannah sat still, tears streaming down her face.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_Phillip stood with his arms open, panting hard, smiling.  Barnum was standing beside him with a matching grin._

 

 

* * *

 

 

Her little boy spreaded out his wings.

 


End file.
